Turkish police given new spring-action batons

Written By THA on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 | 14:38

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Turkish police provided a maiden demonstration of the force’s new spring-action batons to members of the press today.

The new batons will help police neutralize assailants without the use of excessive force "when they are used professionally," said the police department’s deputy in charge of public safety, Ercan Taştekin.

Three types of batons were given to the police: spring-activated batons that will unfurl with the press of a button, motion-activated batons that extend to full-length with a flick of the wrist and screw types that require the user to unscrew and extend the baton.

Police officers are receiving training on how to use the new batons and will start using them soon, Taştekin said. The sound the batons make as they unfurl and their appearance alone will act as a deterrent for possible assailants before they can cause damage to their surroundings, he added.

The batons will especially be used in cases where "psychopathic" individuals mean to cause harm to themselves or to others using sharp weapons and objects.

They will be distributed to 6,000 officers at first and will only be used by personnel who have received training on how to use the weapon, Taştekin said. (CNNTurk.com)